The more surprising it is, the more proof you need.
for grown-ups
What we actually know
Yes, though not because surprising things are false. The round's guest is a living example. The South Island takahē, a big flightless blue-green bird, was last recorded in 1898 and was widely thought to be extinct. On 20 November 1948, Dr Geoffrey Orbell and his party found living takahē in the Murchison Mountains in Fiordland. He had found tracks and heard unknown calls earlier that year, and when the birds were found, photographs were taken.
So a very surprising thing turned out to be true. What made people believe it was not the surprise. It was the extra proof: the tracks, the birds themselves and the photos. A big surprise needs more proof. It doesn't mean saying no.
Kea starts on the other side: "If someone says they saw it, they saw it." She has seen a sparrow this morning, and a flying kiwi. People can be sure of what they saw and still be wrong, and a sparrow and a flying kiwi are very different kinds of claim.
Sources: the Department of Conservation, "The takahē story" (takahē recovery programme); Te Ara, "Takahē rediscovered"; RNZ, "Celebrating 70 years since takahē rediscovery". Sources differ on whether birds were caught and released, so the round keeps to the tracks, the birds and the photos. The round leaves out how few takahē there are today; it's about proof, not conservation.
What kids usually bring
- "I'd believe a sparrow, but I'd want proof of a unicorn." The heart of it. The round just gives the idea a bird to stand on.
- "Anyone can say anything." True, and a good reason to ask how someone knows.
- "Someone told me to ask for proof when it sounds strange." A fair rule of thumb. The round adds that asking is not the same as refusing.
- "If someone says they saw it, they saw it." Kea's view. It's a strong where-from, and it can still be mistaken.
- "Surprising things are sometimes true." Right, and the takahē proves it. It's a good reason, not a wrong one.
At dinner
Ask: "What's the most surprising thing you've heard this week? What would you want to see before you believed it?" Try a few: a sparrow in the garden, a flying kiwi in the garden, a friend who says they can fly.
Notice which ones need more than "I saw it". Then ask what that extra thing is: a photo, a second person, a closer look.
Then the one rule: say their reason back before you give yours.
The round never tells your child what to think. This card tells you what we know, so you're never caught out. If your child wants to argue with it, that is the point.
